Yes! Organic Market pulls out of Southeast

Despite a $900,000 grant from the District and owner Gary Cha’s best efforts to make a profit, Yes! Organic Market — the local chain of small, organic grocery stores — plans to close its store on Pennsylvania Avenue SE, The Washington Post reported.

The store’s closing is a setback in efforts to expand food options in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River.

When it opened in the fall of 2010, the store was hailed by the project’s developer and District officials as a badly needed source of healthy food east of the river, where there are only three full-service grocery stores but more than 140,000 residents.